Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit says that the club should not delay when
it comes to appointing Carlo Ancelotti as their next manager.
The Emirates Stadium outfit find themselves without a boss following
the sacking of Unai Emery a fortnight ago, while there appears to be
no resolution to the current stalemate.
Interim manager Freddie Ljungberg has performed unspectacularly,
winning just one of his four matches in charge, with Manchester City
visiting north London on Sunday.
In need of an experienced hand to lead the way, Petit – who won the
1997-98 Premier League title while at Highbury – believes that the
Italian, who was removed from the Napoli job in midweek despite a
thumping 4-0 Champions League victory over Genk, offers an ideal
solution.
“Ancelotti would be, right now, the perfect answer for Arsenal. It’s
very rare to see a top manager like him getting fired in the middle of
the season,” Petit told the Mirror.
“It’s a coincidence and sometimes destiny tries to show you the way to
go and you have to be open to it.
“He is one of the top managers in the world, he’s available and he’s
on the market.
“I know he is in talks with Everton as well, but I’m pretty sure, if
Arsenal do as good a job, he’d be more than happy to be the manager of
Arsenal.
“In the meantime, the question I ask myself is: ‘What kind of manager
would be happy to take Arsenal’s situation right now?’
“The situation has got worse and worse, season after season, so you
need a really top manager to handle the situation right now.
“And, for the moment, the only one on the market and available is
Ancelotti. Everywhere he went, Ancelotti had success, except with
Napoli.
“He is respected so much by the players for all of his experience and
all of his years in the game.
“At Chelsea, in Italy, in France even with Paris Saint-Germain, he
left great memories for the players. He improved a lot of them and won
many trophies. He has so much experience.
“Ancelotti has everything required to be a top manager and if you
listen to all of his former players, any of them, it’s kind of the
same as Arsene Wenger.
“Most players will tell you good things and it’s the same with Ancelotti.”
Meanwhile, Petit would put any plans to approach Patrick Vieira, who
is currently in charge of Nice, on the backburner for now.
“Patrick was my No.1 choice and I did really think that. But now
Ancelotti is on the market and in the meantime, Patrick needs to
improve more as a manager.
“He is still a young manager, what he is doing, step by step, is a
good thing, the right thing, but he needs to improve more and more.
“Experience, the relationship with the players in the dressing room,
it’s quite difficult sometimes with the new generation. He needs to
get more experience.”
Arsenal are currently 9th in the Premier League on 22 points, seven
back from the Champions League spots and seven clear of the relegation
zone.
In need of an experienced hand to lead the way, Petit – who won the
1997-98 Premier League title while at Highbury – believes that the
Italian, who was removed from the Napoli job in midweek despite a
thumping 4-0 Champions League victory over Genk, offers an ideal
solution.
“Ancelotti would be, right now, the perfect answer for Arsenal. It’s
very rare to see a top manager like him getting fired in the middle of
the season,” Petit told the Mirror.
